The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group works to help people whose rights have been violated and investigates cases involving such abuse, as well as assessing the overall human rights situation in Ukraine. The Group also seeks to develop awareness of human rights issues through public events and its various publications

The Prosecutor General’s Office has stated that there are for now no grounds for them to take over the criminal investigation into the disappearance of the Chief Editor of the newspaper Novy Styl [New Style] Vasyl Klymentyev.

The Head of the PGO Press Service, Yury Boichenko said that if it was established that law enforcement officers had been complicit in a crime against Klymentyev, as one of the versions being considered suggests, then the Prosecutor General would take over the case.

He added that 50 expert studies had been carried out and that divers had scoured virtually the entire reservoir in Kharkiv.

As reported here, Vasyl Klimentyev, Chief Editor of the newspaper “New Style”, disappeared on 11 August. His colleagues are convinced that this was linked with his professional activities.

The police almost immediately began a murder investigation despite the journalist having disappeared without trace. The source here says that Mr Klymentyev was last seen getting into a BMW near a metro station, however investigators earlier said that this sighting had not been confirmed.

After considerable media attention, the authorities began reacting, and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Vasyl Mohylyov stated that the journalist’s disappearance was to be investigated by the MIA Central Investigation Department because they suspected that police officers could be implicated.

On 11 September the MIA informed that around 10 versions for the journalist’s disappearance were being worked on, and the media reported that there were already 13 volumes of material, with 500 people having been questioned. However on 14 September the same MIA acknowledged that nobody has been charged or is even a suspect in the case.

Concern over Klymentyev’s disappearance has been expressed by a number of international organizations, including Reporters without Borders, as well as the OSCE.